Loren C. Steffy's Blog, page 50

Extreme filling: Twinkie makers' execs accused of padding pay before bankruptcy

Hostess Brands may have boosted executive salaries in the months leading up to the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Penney cuts staff, adding to irony of 'fair and square'

A week after JC Penney revealed it had showered new chief executive Ron Johnson with a $53.3 million pay package for his first six months on the job, the company announced plans to cut 600 employees from its corporate headquarters in Plano. The cuts, which represent about 14 percent of the headquarters staff, will be [...]

Have you heard the one about the airline that buys a refinery?

If Delta's looking for a way to make its losses more consistent and pervasive, buying a refinery might be the ticket.

Dynegy settles with creditors after blistering examiner report

Faced with the scathing results of a bankruptcy examiner's report, Houston-based Dynegy has finally agreed to acknowledge the claims of its creditors, something the company should have done all along. Dynegy's treatment of creditors leading up to its bankruptcy filing was more noxious than the emissions from its coal plants. Last summer, it created a [...]

United makes the right choice, apparently for the wrong reason

With wage abuses on the rise, United Airlines should make it clear why it decided to dump a contractor at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Is Penney CEO pay `fair and square'?

Retailer JC Penney hired former Apple exec Ron Johnson as chief executive in June. Johnson has attempted to re-invent the aging department store chain with a new ad campaign and pricing strategy he labeled as "fair and square." Shareholders may be wondering if that same strategy applies in the board room. For his first half-year [...]

Parsing the numbers on Obamacare's individual mandate

With the Supreme Court arguments this week, Obamacare's individual mandate has once again become the primary focus of the health care reform debate. While its constitutionality is in question, the rhetoric around the individual mandate has reached a fever pitch. Constitutionality is a valid question, but it's also worth remembering that the individual mandate won't [...]

The folly of the Obama solar energy strategy

The Commerce Department's decision to slap import tariffs on Chinese solar panels smacks of sour grapes. Having been bested by the Chinese in the manufacture of the panels, the Obama administration is hoping to cover up its own failed development policies. In this case, the victor is penalized by the loser. Alex B. Berezow and [...]

The heath care reform issue the Supreme Court isn't considering

As the Supreme Court begins hearing the second day of arguments over the health care reform law, specifically the constitutionality of requiring individuals to buy insurance, there's a more fundamental issue that the court won't consider. I've argued for a while now that while I have my issues with the reform law itself, my biggest [...]

Small business is like cute little bunny, shot in mid-flight (Updated)

The latest video from Herman Cain's "Cain's Solutions Revolution" is truly bizarre. So what are we supposed to make of this? Small business is like a tiny bunny, and the current tax system shoots it into the air where it can be splattered by a man in a suit? Is the little girl supposed to [...]